Burpee and Discovery Center museums give thanks

As one of four $1-million contributors, Martin Glass, president of Woodward Turbine Systems and chairman of Woodward Charitable Trust, spoke July 12 to other donors who made the expansion of the Burpee Natural History Museum and the Discovery Center possible. Alpine Bank’s President Rob Funderburg’s efforts were noted to match a Kresge $800,000 challenge grant, which met the goal of $10.5 million. Photo by Frank Schier

Describing Rockford’s original baby dinosaur, www.burpee.org/exhibits/index.asp states: “After four years of preparation, Jane is now on display as the centerpiece of a new exhibit at Burpee Museum. Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur. Come discover what happened during the 66 million years she lay buried, visit the expedition’s Montana base camp, and view Jane’s fully restored 21-foot skeleton.” Visit Burpee Museum of Natural History at 711 N. Main St., Rockford. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., daily. Photo by Frank Schier

Since the discovery of the juvenile Triceratops, Homer, whose skull is shown above, the museum has been under construction to expand its facility’s lab, exhibition hall, classrooms and public spaces. Homer’s exhibit will open in 2012. A team left Rockford July 13 to recover the rest of Homer from his Montana discovery site. Photo by Frank Schier